The Handy Family

New Years

2012-01-09T16:53:00.000-08:00

Friday morning we left town to spend the weekend in San Diego. We stopped in LA for some lunch. Mark and I tried some Indian food at a place called Al-Noor, it was so delicious! their garlic naan is so good! The boys didn't want to try it so they had McDonalds. I've never seen one with a carwash!

Once in San Diego, we checked into our hotel then went to our friends house and ordered pizza and just visited.

Saturday morning Mark woke up early to go surfing while the boys and I slept in! we then got breakfast and headed back to our friends house where we we hung out and then did some shopping. that night they had a party so we did that and then after midnight, we went back to hotel where the boys had their annual silly string fight!

Sunday we went to check out the Midway.

The boys had a blast here!

We then went into Old Town to check out the newly remodeled Mormon Battalion site.

This place was lots of fun! at the end of the tour the kids got to pan for gold!

Monday morning we checked out of our hotel then went to visit with our friends for a bit before we headed back home.

For Christmas Peter got a ripstick and Sam got a soleskate and Adam finally learned how to ride a two wheel scooter. there is a park and a walking path where our friends live. this whole weekend, the boys would take their new toys and ride around.

they got pretty good on those things!

Headed home, we stopped at Cafe Rio for dinner.

Almost home!

We love San Diego!

Christmas Eve

2012-01-06T20:08:00.000-08:00

We had a fun Christmas eve. in the morning we made sugar cookies for Santa.

later that afternoon we went with my parents to visit Granny and celebrate Christmas with her. She lives in a group home with four other older ladies. the couple who runs the home are from the Philippines and they made some wonderful traditional food for the celebration.

Granny with her great grandsons.

After we visited with Granny, we went to look at Christmas lights.

then we met at my parents house for more food, a gag gift exchange, and then the Christmas story acted out by the kids.

This is the Staging area. Peter was the angel.

Adam, and Ryker were the wise men.

And Sam was a Sheppard.

Jonah and Evva were Mary and Joseph, and Kamorah was baby Jesus. It was really cute watching the kids act this out!

we then went home to discover that the pajama elf came.

New jammies!

Mark then read Twas the night before Christmas...

then the boys went to bed. they wanted to all sleep together so we pulled Peter's mattress onto the floor and dragged Sam's into Peter's room to make one big bed.

Santa finally came to fill the stockings!

It's Christmas!!!

Christmas Day

2012-01-06T19:27:00.000-08:00

The boys woke up Christmas morning at 6:00. they opened their stockings and then got us up at 6:30. at 8 Mark went to McDonald's to get breakfast as is our tradition and then because I was still fighting a nasty cold, I went back to bed while the boys played with their new toys.

later that afternoon, we went to my parents for dinner and more presents!

I love Christmas!

leaves

2011-12-29T11:04:00.000-08:00

The wind finally blew hard enough to blow the rest of the leaves from our tree. The boys noticed this when they got home from school so they went to rake the leaves into a pile to play in.

December is BUSY!!!!!

2011-12-21T20:38:00.000-08:00

Our friends from church own Rivers End Rafting and had a spot in the Bakersfield Christmas parade. they needed people to fill up the bus so we volunteered! at the Veteran's day parade, Sam asked why can't he ever be in a parade. it's fun that something he wanted to do happened so quickly!

We waited a LONG time before it was our turn.

the bus pulled the rafters

The boys had a great time, Thanks!

2011-12-21T19:57:00.000-08:00

We went with our peeps to the Magical Forest. The boys got free tickets for reading at school both this year and last. we were going to go last year, but all the rain prevented us from going so this is our first year here. I'm glad we had free tickets. it's cute for free, would have been disappointed if I had to pay for it!

The Magical Forest has a path with Christmas scenes throughout.

Looks like snow right? nope, it's dust and it was so gross! This is the boys at the start of the trail.

Santa in an outhouse, the boys thought this was hilarious!

A little Disney fix!

This tree was made out of 7 UP cans and bottles

Boys love pirates!

Almost everyone is looking at the camera! that's hard to do with 7 little boys!

Sam was the only one who wanted to see Santa. They talked for about 5 minutes!

this place had a train!

The boys had a great time, and I made sure we all took showers when we got home to wash all the dust off!

2011-12-21T19:43:00.000-08:00

We had a little Christmas party for playgroup. the kids frosted sugar cookies, made reindeer out of their hand and footprints, and had a gift exchange.

Adam was really happy to get Legos! (That's a silly band around his neck, he said it gave him super powers!)

Adam and Brynn

2011-12-21T19:28:00.000-08:00

For our R.S. Christmas program, my board and I put together, "A Night in Bethlehem." It was a lot of work, but I think everything went really well and that everyone had a good time. Thank goodness one of my besties is on the board with me, I'd be lost without her!

2011-12-21T19:20:00.000-08:00

Sam had his third grade flutophone concert last week. they sang and played four Christmas songs. it was really cute, and so much fun to watch.

Breaking Dawn

2011-12-12T07:54:00.000-08:00

All of us in front of the wedding sign

Christa and I got in line at noon and there were only about 15 people ahead of us. we had our youngest boys with us for a few hours until mom came to relieve us so we could pick up other kids at school. they had fun playing together and having a picnic in line!

The line is starting to get long.

This was on the movie poster

waiting in line...

The inside of the theater was decorated like a wedding

on the wall outside our theater

12 hours later, finally in the theater!

top 10 highlights of this day:

10. guys streaking

9. the fat face app.

8. being with other crazy Twihards

7. a break from my responsibilities

6. the feel of excitement throughout the day

5. The salted caramel hot chocolate at Starbucks

4. the green beans from Tahoe Joes.

3. hanging out with my mom and sisters

2. realizing that we all want a little glitter in our lives

1. laughing so hard with my friends that I can't breathe

Hart Park

2011-12-08T08:25:00.000-08:00

we had playgroup at Hart Park a few weeks ago to feed the ducks. everyone brought bread and the kids had so much fun feeding the noisy ducks and a few aggressive geese!

Veterans Day 11-11-11

2011-12-01T14:46:00.000-08:00

We love Veterans Day. We love going to the parade and honoring all those who have served our country.

These cars were pretty cool, the boys got a kick out of them!

Me and Sam

Adam liked this one.

After the parade we went to have lunch then went to the Kern Co museum where they had tons of military vehicles on display. They got to go inside and climb all over them, the boys were in heaven!

It started to rain so we went inside the museum for a bit. there is a cool simulator ride that takes you under the ocean in a "submarine" to learn more about oil. the boys thought it was neat.

In the gift shop Sam wanted this bald eagle, he named him Veteran.

We had a great day!

8 is great!

2011-11-30T18:30:00.000-08:00

November 5th Sam was baptized! It was a very fun and happy day! I'm so proud of the choice he made and for how smart, funny, and handsome my little boy is growing up to be!

Happy Halloween 2011!

2011-11-02T19:41:00.000-07:00

I love Halloween! It's nice to have a holiday where we can just have fun and be silly! Of course getting free candy doesn't hurt either!

Peter decided to be a zombie soccer player at the last minute.

Sam is Captain Jack Sparrow

Adam is a vampire...I didn't even know he knew what a vampire was!

This picture got out of order but here are the boys trick or treating.

We went with the Gilberts, their son Nathan fits right in!

Walking up to the first house!

The boys got in a little trouble!!!

Checking out their loot!

Who gives out Special K protein bars to trick or treaters? Between the three boys, we ended up with six of them! So funny!

Skull Harbor

2011-10-29T10:37:00.000-07:00

Kathryn bought a package to Skull Harbor and invited us to go with her. I've never been here before so I was excited to check it out!

the group of kids and our pirate host

Pirate introductions

Adam is not sure about his new outfit

I think he looks so cute

walking down Pirate Alley

Having fun with swords

This guy was great. At first all the kids were really shy then he brought out the swords and let the kids chase him around and hit him. They did this for about 20 minutes and the kids loved it!

After the sword fighting, we went on a treasure hunt and found the gold.

And then had cake and grog

This place is so much fun, Adam had a great time!

Adam

2011-10-27T16:23:00.000-07:00

Just some cute pictures of what Adam has been up to.

8 is great!

2011-10-26T19:09:00.000-07:00

I wanted some pictures of Sam for his baptism announcements. My bestie, Kathryn, who is an amazing photographer and an even more amazing friend, volunteered to take them. These are the results; I think they look awesome!

I love how this picture shows his chubby little boy hands, all too soon he will outgrow all the cute chub and not be my little boy anymore.

So Sam! He has a great personality!

This one was Sam's idea. He thought it would be cool!

Happy 8th Birthday Sam!

2011-10-26T09:01:00.000-07:00

Foe Sam's party this year, he wanted a Pokemon party. This one was kinda difficult for me because I really don't know much about Pokemon. With (lots) of help from the Internet I was able to get some good ideas and Sam ended up having a very fun party.

They got to create their own Pokemon cards.

My cute hubby!

That's my Sam!

I found this game where they had to race wrapping each other in toilet paper. There is a Pokemon character who looks like he is a mummy. the boys thought this was the best game ever!

Present time!

Happy 4th birthday Adam!

2011-10-25T16:52:00.000-07:00

My sweet little guy turned 4 Oct. 9th. He wanted a super hero party with a bounce house. I have to say, this was a very fun and fairly easy party to do!~

Adam's birthday morning.

His party

some bouncing...

some singing and cake....

some presents...

and a pinata...sounds like a party to me!

Adam had a great time!

Apple picking

2011-10-25T16:37:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of October a few friends and I went up to Tehachapi to pick apples. This is something I have been doing since Peter was little. The trees here are just the right height for little kids to reach and they love it!

All the kids

Conference Sunday

2011-10-25T14:47:00.000-07:00

When we were in New Orleans, I bought some beignet mix from Cafe Du Monde. On conference Sunday I pulled out our deep fryer and made some. They weren't quite like the restaurant's but they were still very yummy!

a second day at the fair

2011-10-25T14:39:00.000-07:00

Adam and I went to the fair for preschool days. It's free and I love spending one on one time with this little guy!

Kern Co. Fair 2011

2011-10-24T19:43:00.000-07:00

When Peter was 5 we started a tradition of going to the fair on opening day. This year was no different and we had a great time!

I gave the kids each $10 to spent on whatever they wanted. Peter immediately bought a $6 cotton candy and a $4 soda. I tried to explain to him that that's all his money and that he should wait and look around first but he was adamant.

This is what Sam spent him money on. He got to walk on water!

Adam climbed a Spiderman maze/slide thing. Then we watched the turkey races.

We also rode the train, looked at the animals, and ate some yummy food!

Back to school night

2011-10-24T19:34:00.000-07:00

I love back to school night. I love seeing all the work my kids have done and how the classrooms are decorated. This year was extra fun because I was nominated as PTA president!

Sam at his desk. (Peter didn't want me to take his picture)

After we went out to eat at a little Mexican food restaurant. We ate outside because we saw more lightning!

Thunderstorm!

2011-10-24T19:21:00.000-07:00

Before Mark's first soccer game of the season, we stopped at Togo's before heading out to the park. While there, we heard thunder and saw lightning! When we finished dinner there was still no rain so we continued on to the park. while driving there, it just started pouring rain!

Adam is wondering where all the rain came from!

Almost to the park and the sun comes out!

We get to the park, get set up and then the skies open again with ore thunder and lighting! Games have been canceled so we head back home to enjoy the weather.

Vote for Pedro!

2011-10-24T19:15:00.000-07:00

Peter ran for class Vice President this year. He has to write his speech and then it was filmed to be broadcast in the classrooms. He didn't win, but he had fun!

Labor Day

2011-10-24T19:02:00.000-07:00

We just stayed home Labor Day weekend and relaxed. Monday we BBQ-ed some ribs and had an awesome dinner!

First day of school

2011-10-24T18:44:00.000-07:00

Sam is in 3rd grade this year. His teacher is Ms. Mitchell. Peter had her for 3rd grade too. She is a very awesome teacher!

Peter is in 6th grade! I remember 6th grade so well! I cannot believe he is so grown up already!

another school year....2011

Happy Birthday Dad!

2011-10-24T17:40:00.000-07:00

My Dad turned 57 Aug.16th. We had a party at his house with his favorite desserts German Chocolate cake and 5 layer dessert.

getting ready to sing

this is what the table looked like about 15 minutes later!

My parents with all their grandkids

My dad with his girls!

NOLA-San Antonio day 12-13

2011-10-24T16:24:00.000-07:00

We are headed home today. There is nothing west of San Antonio so it's going to be a pretty boring drive. We did stop in Ozona TX to see the Davey Crockett monument. Again American history and Disney has taken its toll on me!

Who knew we were just 291 miles away from El Paso?!

This was taken about 2 in the morning. I think we were somewhere in Arizona at this time.

We made it home about 1:00 the next afternoon. We had a wonderful time road tripping to New Orleans and back again. We were able to see and experience so many wonderful things. I can't wait to do it again!

NOLA-San Antonio day 11

2011-10-21T11:14:00.000-07:00

We went to Schlitterbahn today. This water park is HUGE! We spent all day here and was not able to do everything. We did ride the world's longest water park ride called the Falls. it has an Aqua Vayer which is a conveyor belt we can ride in our tubes to the top of the ride. it also has a waterfall that dumps you into the Comal River. All the water is river water so it's doesn't have that yucky chlorine smell. There are tons of tube chutes and rapid rides. The Master Blaster and the Dragon's Revenge are both water coaster rides and are so much fun!

Ready to start our day! I left the camera in the locker so I could just have fun and not worry about it getting lost, stolen, or broken. This was the kids most favorite day of our vacation!

NOLA-San Antonio day 10

2011-10-07T08:29:00.000-07:00

Today we are going to the Alamo! I've always wanted to see it and am so happy that I finally have the chance.

These flags are so big!

The inside of the Alamo. We are not allowed to take pictures inside, but my mom did anyway.

The US with the three links was just discovered. They are still trying to find out what the links mean. It's way up high above the front door.

Here we are!

The US and the three links are located by this window, on the inside of course.

The grounds are so beautiful!

Something that I learned is that the actual battle didn't happened in the Alamo. It happened in the barracks. The picture below is were most of the fighting happened. It was very bloody with most men fighting one on one with knifes.

Inside the barracks looking out. We watched a short film about the battle of the Alamo inside the room where the fighting took place.

More pics of the barracks

Adam was fascinated with the cactus.

After the Alamo, the car needed new tires so we went to Costco. while waiting, we had lunch and shopped. Then we went to the Riverwalk.

The boys thought this plant looked like the Kraken from Pirates.

Too funny!

The Riverwalk was lots of fun. We walked, shopped, and ate. What's not to like?

Mom LOVES chocolate!

Tomorrow we are going to Schlitterbahn water park!!!!!

NOLA- San Antonio day nine

2011-10-06T08:19:00.000-07:00

We woke up right at 5:00 this morning got ready and left New Orleans at 6:20. We are driving to San Antonio to spent a few days there.

This is were we stayed while in New Orleans

One of the many cats who live here

This is it, not fancy, but we only slept and showered here, so for us it was great!

We stopped for lunch outside of Beaumont TX and then kept driving.

This is somewhere in Texas. We stopped to let the kids run around before we got back in the car.

Of course they figured out a way to climb to the top!

We stopped in Luing TX at Buc-ee's to get Mark and a friend Buc-ee tee shirts then got back on the road.

We got to San Antonio and out campground at 6:20. Exactly 12 hours to the minute when we let the campground in New Orleans! This campground had a playground so the kids went to play while we set up then we got in the pool for a bit to cool off and relax.

Tomorrow we are going to see the Alamo and the Riverwalk!

NOLA Day eight

2011-10-03T19:22:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning we stopped at Cafe Du Monde for beignets again and then walked through the French Quarter one last time to go to the cemetery. If I didn't have my kids with me I would have done the cemetery tour at midnight, but the daytime was interesting too. I took tons of pictures because this place looks so unreal, it's like the stuff you see in movies.

A lot of these are so old they are crumbling and falling to pieces.

This one was just the headstone and a pile of rubble

These two were here before the city was established. There are actually three, the other is around the corner. Nobody knows who is buried here or how old they are. They planted a palm tree to mark where these are. You can see the shadow of the palm tree in the picture.

The small one in the middle is the third unknown grave.

The Voodoo Queen! People leave all kinds of things here for her for good luck. It has to be something you carry with you. We all left her a penny!

The Voodoo Queen's sister's tomb.

This one is just kind of odd and random

I thought this was nice.

After the cemetery and a walk through the French Market, Peter found a postcard for the world's longest bridge. It goes across Lake Pontchartrain and is 23.8 miles long so we decided to drive across it. The boys thought it was pretty fun.

All my stuff in the car!

After we crossed the bridge and crossed it again to go back. we headed back to the camper to do laundry and organize all our stuff. We are waking up at 5:00 AM! The boys watched the new Phineas and Ferb 2D movie and then we went to bed!

Hanging out with papa!

NOLA day Seven

2011-09-30T17:05:00.000-07:00

Today was my favorite day of our whole trip. In the morning we went to the buyou. On our way there, we had to drive through some neighborhoods that were hit by Katrina.

This was really interesting, seeing all these homes that were under water on the news and then to see them in real life made it so real to me. I remember seeing the rescuers float by on rafts and marking the houses as they checked them, so humbling.

We had to drive over the Mississippi on the Crescent City Bridge. the boys were excited, they've been wanting to go over the bridge since we got here!

At the Jean Lafitte bayou visitors center. They had a little museum where the kids learned about the ecosystem and about the animals that live in the bayou. The ranger told us of a trail that was only 1 mile round trip and had a really good chance of seeing alligators.

The start of the trail

My adventurous boys!

The name of the trail

I think the swampy bayou is beautiful, but there are so many creepy crawlies here!

Like this one! They were all OVER!!! Some parts I had to close my eyes and run!

The frog wasn't too bad

but the grasshoppers were huge!

We actually saw an alligator! That's all I wanted so I was really happy!

At the end of the trail

Me and my boys

He is going to be a heart breaker!

On the way back to the car we heard thunder rumble in the distance and saw very dark clouds come in.

After the hike, we stopped at Sonic for slushes and then drove to the battlefield of New Orleans.

We drove by the Superdome

And some more houses

Then the rain came!

By the time we got to the battlefield it was POURING!!! the rain was seriously coming down sideways. And the thunder and lighting was amazing!

This is a road tour so we got to drive around the battlefield and stop at different points and read about important features of the field. At one point we were reading about the men firing their guns at each other and about the U.S. firing their cannons from behind the rampart. The thunder sounded like cannon fire and and lighting like the muskets going off, at that moment, it seemed very real.

The hill is the mud rampart the U.S. built to defeat the British.

The Chalmette Monument.

This visitor's center was really neat. It told all about the Battle of New Orleans. My dad kept singing this song and taught it to my kids:

In 1814 we took a little trip
Along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississip.
We took a little bacon and we took a little beans
And we caught the bloody British in the town of New Orleans.

[Chorus:]
We fired our guns and the British kept a'comin.
There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago.
We fired once more and they began to runnin' on
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

While inside the center we watched a short video about the battle. Outside the storm was crazy, when an especially loud thunderclap happened, we thought it was the cannon fire sound from the film.

After the battlefield we headed back to the French Quarter and the French Market (we love this place!).

outside the market someone was boiling peanuts. I thought it was a very Southern thing to do!

The French Quarter looked beautiful this evening with the rain and the lights. I took so many pictures.

We stopped here to try some alligator!

Yum!

Everyone liked it! The kids thought it was funny that we saw a live alligator that morning and then we ate one that evening.

Bourbon St. again. This time on a Friday night!

Adam dancing to the music coming from a bar

This is a grocery store. I found some really good hot sauce and Cajun seasonings in here. I wish I would have bought more!

Pirates Ally just sounds cool

And it's very pretty too!

Tomorrow is Saturday and our last day in New Orleans =(

NOLA Day six

2011-09-29T08:28:00.000-07:00

Thursday morning we went to ride the Steamboat Natchez. It doesn't leave until 11:00am so we got to sleep in a bit leaving around 9:30. We parked at our usual spot and walked through the French Market again. This place is just so interesting! I found a shirt I liked the first day we got here and every day I kept looking at it. Today I finally decided to buy it and I'm glad I did, I love it! I ran back to put it in the car (along with some other things we bought) while everyone else continued on. I caught up with them at the end of the market and we continued on to the Natchez dock.

Us on board. The pilot pointed out lots of interesting things along our ride.

I grew up loving Mark Twain and the whole Mississippi lore, add the Disney side to all that and I've built up something very nostalgic in my head. Luckily it didn't disappoint! I love this picture! I don't know if this was destroyed in the hurricane or if its just really old, but I love it.

A very cool house and location!

The sugar plant that supplies the east coast with sugar. They were making brown sugar today and the air smelled like chocolate chip cookies!

pushing a barge up the Mississippi

This is the site of the Battle of New Orleans. Seeing this, we decided to go visit it tomorrow.

Having fun on the boat

The boys were memorized by the huge paddle especially when we turned around in the river.

another neat house, I don't think I would want to live there though. That levee does not look high enough!

In the gift shop all Adam wanted was a ring pop!

Don't know what this building is, but I like the message!

downtown New Orleans.

The ferryboat we rode on Monday.

This reminds me of Pirates of the Caribbean.

The Crescent City Bridge and the Riverwalk Mall

This is where they store the Mardi Gras floats

Dad told the boys that if you spit in the Mississippi River, you will someday return. Here is Sam spitting in the river. (yes I spit too!)

After our trip down the mighty Missisip, this guy was out on the moonwalk. He was really good! (and I didn't realized the statue was in the background until later!)

We walked to the Riverwalk mall for lunch. In the food court the boys were very happy to find Panda Express!

I got a shrimp po boy, and I was so Delicious!!!

After lunch, we walked back through the mall. the kids found some pressed penny machines next to a claw machine. while i was looking for pennies and quarters, Adam started to play with the claw machine. I guess someone left some money in there because Adam got the claw to move and he won a prize!

That pink rhino thing is what he won. He named it Baby Buzz Poo, really!

While standing here, someone asked me for directions and I knew my way around so well I was able to give them really good directions!

My parents are celebrating their anniversary tonight so we then headed back to the camper for them to pack and bag and leave and for the guys and I to just rest for the evening. I talked to Mark for about an hour while they watched T.V. then we went to bed.

NOLA Day five

2011-09-27T09:32:00.000-07:00

We were at back at the stadium bright and early Wed. morning. Sam ran at 8:45 and then Peter ran at 12:15. The stadium is in City Park, the third largest city park in the nation. If we had more time I would have liked to explore it more. They do have a huge dog park with playground toys just for dogs!

Mom and I enjoying our free saunas! (Seriously, I'm sure we sweated out a lot of junk on this trip, and I lost 8 lbs!)

So HOT!

They are done! They didn't place, but it was a great experience.

Some pics of the races. Sam starting his 800.

and Sam finishing.

Peter starting his 800.

And Peter finishing.

after the race, Sam found some energy to jump this post.

After leaving the stadium, we went back to the camper to shower and then went to look at some sugar plantations.

This sign looked funny. San Francisco is a plantation house, we drove by but didn't get out.

This little shop was along the river road. Adam was asleep otherwise we would have stopped.

This plantation was the most interesting to me because it has a Disney connection...

In this building is where the stories of Br'ar Rabbit were told and recorded!

Me by some sugar cane!

This graveyard is just on the side of the road. No fence, no sign, nothing. Just crypts and a sugar cane field.

After exploring some plantations, we drove to Gonzonga, a town between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, to do some outlet shopping. We found some great deals and had fun doing it!

We stopped for dinner on the way back to New Orleans and then went to bed!

NOLA Day four

2011-09-27T08:58:00.000-07:00

Today was an easy day. We slept in til 9:00 then spent the morning doing laundry and relaxing. After lunch we headed to Tad Gormley Stadium where the boys are running the 400. We had to be there two hours before their event so there was a lot of waiting in the heat.

This is Peter's race, after it was over, he said it was really hard to breathe!

Here is Sam. He said it was fun but really, really hot!

Just a picture of how many people there are here.

We left the stadium around 7:30 that evening and just got dinner and then went to bed. We have to be back here at 8:00 the next morning for the boys to run the 800.

NOLA Day three

2011-09-26T08:41:00.000-07:00

Monday morning we headed back to the French Quarter to have breakfast at Cafe Du Monde. I love all the lace iron the French Quarter has, it is so beautiful!

This fountain is between the French Market and the Quarter. It is lovely here. lots of shade and there is always live music!

Finally made it to Cafe Du Monde!

Our waiter, yes it is HOT!

Our table waiting for our beignets!

Oh yummy goodness!

The kids devoured them!

They come with about a pound of powdered sugar. The boys were in heaven!

After our breakfast we did some shopping. Adam posed in front of this vintage Harley while my dad bought a shirt.

Next we made our way over to Jackson Square.

I took lots of pictures of this, I think because I was so excited to be here!

St Louis Cathedral was very fun to see.

This cannon was used during the Battle of New Orleans

Walking down Pirate Alley

A couple of turns and now we are walking down Bourbon Street

Had to take a picture of Peter next to the St. Peter street sign.

funny story: It was about 10:30 and already super duper hot and humid as heck. While we stopped on Bourbon Street to take some pictures, Adam sat down on a door stoop to drink his water. The way he was sitting looked just like a bum. some guys walking by looked at him at said,"looks like that kid had one water too many!" It was pretty funny.

Found a restaurant with Sam's name.

I love this building!

All the street signs had stickers all over them. this one was the only one we could find without nudie pics or bad words on it!

My parents stayed at this hotel Thursday night to celebrate their anniversary

Looking down Bourbon.

After the French Quarter, we took the street car to the National World War II Museum. This place was so awesome to see!

This is the size of the armies that fought in WWII. I think it really says something about the US. when our military was so small in comparison and yet we still won the war!

Attack on Pearl Harbor

Sam liked this because it reminded him of Indiana Jones!

The yellow building houses the museum, in the gray building is a 4-D movie called Beyond All Boundaries. It was amazing to see. I LOVE American history and to see and hear some of the stories that were told was just so neat to see.

Just a cool building

My mom and I loved this old red house, it is now a restaurant.

We actually did what this billboard said!

After the WWII museum, we took the ferry across the Mississippi to Algiers.

Old Algiers is very beautiful and quaint.

This is the house I would LOVE to live in!!! So pretty!!!!

New Orleans water meter covers. there are paintings, artwork, and jewelry with this cover on it. It is kinda cool looking.

The Natchez! We will be riding this later in the week!

My boys walking along the levee and the banks of the Mississippi.

Getting back on the ferry

Needed a picture of another train!

The boys got to ride in the driver's seat!

What fun and tiring day!

Nola, day two

2011-08-22T11:58:00.000-07:00

Sunday July 31.

This morning Mom, Dad, and I woke up early and went to sacrament meeting. there is only one ward in all of New Orleans and this ward has five sets of missionaries! A friend of ours is actually in the bishopric here so we surprised him when he saw us walk in! The speakers were a real Cajun/Creole man who was baptized seven years ago. He was great and it was really fun to hear his accent. I couldn't understand most of what he was saying, he really did sound like the guy from Waterboy! The other speaker was a woman and she told a story about her experience during Hurricane Katrina. After sacrament meeting, we went outside to take pictures. We were very surprised to see beads in all the trees and wires everywhere, we expected it in the French Quarter, buy not in the Garden District and on St. Charles. (And in front of the church building!)

After church, we went back to get the boys and Jason and to explore the city! We got a great tip on where there is free parking and parked there almost everyday and then took the streetcars wherever we needed to go.

This is us. we just parked and are walking to the French Quarter/French Market for the first time!

My first time seeing the French Quarter.

The streetcar stop for the French Market.

The French Market is huge and very busy. lots of vendors sell stuff they make and tee shirts and things. At one end is a Farmer's Market. To the left is the Mississippi River and to the right is the French Quarter.

After exploring the French Market, we decided to ride the streetcars around to get familiar with the area.

It started to rain while riding. We all enjoyed it so much!

We finally made it Bourbon Street!

There are always police cars on Bourbon on the weekends!

In Voodoo Mark, we tried on some Mardi Gras masks.

By the time we were done in the store, it was dark and late so we walked back to the car, walking along the Moonwalk which is a path by the Mississippi that has lots of statues and sculptures along the way.

Road trip to NOLA

2011-08-18T08:35:00.000-07:00

This is the beginning of our road trip from Bakersfield CA all the way to New Orleans LA. We left town about 3:30 in the afternoon and drove all night and all day Friday too. My parents, brother Jason, me, and my kids all went, it was a very long, but fun drive!

Cajon Pass, the boys loved seeing all the trains.

This is Friday morning when we stopped for breakfast. We are almost to the New Mexico border.

Here we are in New Mexico. We stopped at this little tourist trap. It felt good to get out of the car for a bit.

In Texas, we stopped at a place called Buc-ee's. We got lunch here and looked around, this place was crazy!

We stopped for the night in Kerrville, TX and then left at like 7:00AM Saturday morning for New Orleans.

We were excited to drive through Houston!

These signs were everywhere!

Having fun in the car.

Finally got to Baton Rouge and my first time seeing the Mississippi River. (flying over it in a plane doesn't count). Too bad it was dark already!

Almost there! We got to NOLA about 10:00pm Saturday night. We immediately went to bed!

Sunday coming soon!

Fastest Kid in Town

2011-07-22T12:03:00.000-07:00

The boys' track team held a meet to get ready for Nationals.

Peter receiving his medal for 2nd place from Olympic medalist Charles Craig.

Peter with Papa and Momo.

They had a 50 for all the little kids. Adam was so excited to run! This is him lining up.

Look at his face, he is loving this!

After he crossed the finish line, he got a big hug from daddy!

Adam got a medal, a ribbon, AND a sucker!

Sam receiving his medal

Congratulations Sam!

Charles Craig's medals

My boys after a successful evening.

Summer lunch

2011-07-20T16:05:00.000-07:00

I can't think of a better way to spend a summer afternoon,

Moo Creamery is a great place for lunch!

This is my favorite ice cream right now, the Elvis shake. It has peanut butter, bananas, and bacon, yum!

Sweet potato fries and deep fried pickles are also really, really, good.

I think I just made myself really hungry!

Happy 4th

2011-07-16T21:13:00.000-07:00

This is my favorite holiday! We have a very wonderful tradition every 4th starting with our ward's pancake breakfast. Great food and friends makes getting up and out the door so early totally worth it.

The releasing of the pigeons or doves or whatever they are, all I know is that the kids really enjoy this part.

Peter, Gordon, and Sam.

going to the movies is another 4th of July tradition. After the breakfast, we went to watch Cars 2. Not really what I expected, but my boys loved it!

We then went swimming and had a BBQ. I didn't realize that I didn't take any pictures of us during this time until just now.

After we swan and ate, we drove up to Tehachapi, where the weather was delightful, to watch the fireworks.

We made Mickey!

playing catch up

2011-07-12T18:19:00.000-07:00

Sam had a field trip to Wind Wolves two days before school got out. I've never been here before so it was really fun for me. We really lucked out with the weather too, it was only in the upper 70's.

This plant is called a stinking gourd. it smells like fried onions.

2011-07-12T18:08:00.000-07:00

I was in charge of decorating the teacher appreciation luncheon at Peter's school. We already had the red check tablecloths so I just did a picnic theme. It turned out really cute and the teachers loved it!

2011-07-12T17:55:00.000-07:00

End of school year awards. Peter received one for his gate fair project

He also earned another pin to put on his letter.

Sam received a hero award for always helping others

and he earned a math blasters medal and a reading trophy.

2011-07-12T17:42:00.000-07:00

Sam made homemade bread in science class. His science teacher said it tuned out perfect so he was very excited to bring it home!

It tasted really good!

Sam also participated in the young author's fair this year. He wrote a book of poems.

2011-07-12T17:28:00.000-07:00

GATE fair projects.

Sam did his project on Malcolm X and did it all in class. He did a great job!

Peter did his on the Percy Jackson series and created a board game based on the books.